Teotia SPS, Teotia M, Dental Caries: A Disorder of High Fluoride And Low Dietary Calcium Interactions (30 years of Personal Research), Fluoride, 1994, 27:2 the largest study on dental caries in the world

Thylstrup A, et al., A light and scanning electron microscopic study of enamel decalcification in children living in a water-fluoridated area, J Dent Res, 1990, 69:10

Hip fracture rates in seniors are rising in fluoridated areas and are increasing more rapidly than can be accounted for by an aging population.

Two studies show increased osteosarcomas in children (a rare, often fatal bone cancer).

New radiographic techniques show bone abnormalities in children with dental fluorosis (the teeth are a window to what is happening in the bones).

Bone abnormalities are seen in aborted fetuses born to mothers with dental fluorosis.

World Health Organization warns that ingesting 2.0 - 8.0 mg of fluoride per day (as little as 2 liters of fluoridated water) can lead to the pre-clinical stage (arthritis-like symptoms) of skeletal fluorosis (a crippling bone disease).

Up to 69.2% of Canadian children in fluoridated communities now have dental fluorosis, a 59% increase since 1945. Although most of this reflects mild fluorosis, moderate to severe fluorosis is on the increase. Some fluoride proponents are thus advocating that: fluoride supplements be eliminated (<16% of eligible children take them); and, only a "pea-sized" portion of toothpaste be used for young children (the spitting mechanism is not fully developed until about age five). Even if a "pea-sized" portion of paste is used, many children still swallow all or most of the yummy-tasting fluoridated paste, therefore increasing their risk of developing fluorosis.

Some fluoride proponents are advising parents NOT to use fluoridated toothpaste for children under age three. Others say parents should only use a tiny smear just enough to wet a couple of bristles. See toothpaste advisory by Calgary Regional Health Authority, and Calgary & District Dental Society.

Riordan PJ, Guidelines for the use of dietary fluoride supplements in Australia, Australian Dent J, 1989, 34(4):359-62

Roberts MW, et al., Fluoride Supplement Prescribing and Dental Referral Patterns Among Academic Pediatricians, Pediatrics 1998, 101(1):E6. Text at
http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/101/1/e6 A significant proportion of Pediatricians prescribe fluoride even though they do not bother to evaluate an infant's present intake, or if there is even a "need" for it! This places children at greater risk of fluorosis.

Lee JR, Fluoride Exposure and Childhood Osteosarcoma A case-control study (A report by Gelberg KH et al., of the N.Y. State Department of Health, in The American Journal of Public Health, 1995, 85, 1678-1683), Fluoride,1996, 29:4

Dentistry maintains that fluoride ingestion and topical fluorides are the principal factors involved in the decline of tooth decay in the last 50 years. Are there other factors involved in the decreasing caries rates and are the claimed benefits of fluoride over-rated?

Adair SM, et al, Comparison of the use of a child and an adult dentifrice by a sample of preschool children. Pediatr Dent, 1997 Mar, 19 (2): 99-103.